RPG Vault has posted a new game developer editorial series, this time from Running With Scissor's Vince Desi. In his first article Desi criticizes the system used to rate games as unfair to console owners who want the right to buy "adult oriented" games.

For me, as someone who has been in the games industry for over 20 years, and been the subject (fair, right or wrong - who cares) of misrepresentation, the POINT is we have to stop being the orphan bastard always on the defensive. It's time we speak up and out and demand equal rights as gamers, the same as music listeners, moviegoers and anyone else who seeks to decide for themselves what they want to choose for entertainment.

Before many gamers first picked up a joystick, there was something called the VCR. But what most have forgotten is that porn played a substantial role in enabling the VHS format to succeed. And so, we find ourselves today, about 30 years after video gaming was born, in a similar predicament. How can gamers buy adult-oriented software for their favorite gaming systems?

We all know that today, the average gamer is male and over 25. In other words, they can die in Iraq, drink, vote, get married, divorced and even file bankruptcy - but they can't buy a video game based on or containing what is designated as "adult content". Interestingly enough, adult games are widely available on PCs and Macs, but on my new 70" HD TV? Sorry, no can do. The video game industry is unique in that we are software-based, but hardware dependent. Consoles are not open development platforms, and so, unless a major console vendor approves a title for publication, it will not find its way onto a retail shelf.